Conference: 25th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering COBEM 2019 At: Uberlândia, MG, Brazil
André Souza Mendes; Bianca Antonia Costa Mangabeira; Fabrizio Leonardi; Agenor de Toledo Fleury
Abstract: This paper presents the development of a testing platform for experimental demonstration of the vehicle-following task in an introductory control course. This platform is composed by one treadmill and up to two vehicles based on the combination of an Arduino board and a steerable scaled chassis. The vehicle is equipped with four DC motors and one step motor responsible for the four wheel drive and steering actuation, respectively. Three ultrasonic sensors monitor the following distance and the lateral displacement of the vehicle. Fundamental concepts of control design are addressed using this modern real-world implementation of vehicle automation to increase students interest and engagement. Topics such as system identification, closed-loop response and disturbance rejection are presented and discussed using the developed platform.